A Darkend Fairytale
by StarraMoonstone
Summary: The story of young Roxanne, narrated by her only source or reliance.
1. Intro

A heartbeat… That's how it started. Yes, a heartbeat.

An introduction, of course, to explain how the heartbeat is so essential to our story.

First, our cast list of characters. Each more unusual than the next, none of them human, not all survive. But I'm getting ahead of myself. You'll understand what I mean in due time. For now, lets start with the oldest shall we?

I am not particularly fond of Damon. The most I can say is he's tall, seems strong, and has an evilly caring aura about him. Of course at first you wouldn't really notice, because he always has his hair in his eyes and an expressionless face. Then again, unless it comes down to where he must, he does not usually care. Humans are just playthings to him. Oh, and one more thing. He was born in 1744. Does that mean…? Yes, very good.

Next, and last not including myself, is our heroine. She ties everyone together and creates the story. Her waist length brown hair and pale complexion make her something to see, but her dazzling blue eyes really made her a gem. Those blue eyes told an amazing story, if only you looked. Oh it pained me to bite her… it honestly did. And to this very day, even as I write, I regret it.

This brings the spotlight to me, try as I may to step out of it. As I said before none of the characters, or the ones worth mentioning, are human. So what does that say for me? Am I human? You may wonder. Heh, sometimes I am. Others… 'Human' would be an insult. And you may be wondering about Roxanne. Well, to start our story the right way... I suppose she is… for now.

So now we begin with a vampire, a human, a wolf, and a bite. Let's go back a bit and I'll tell you story of a bite, a girl, and a never-ending game with fate. This is the story of my Roxanne.


	2. First Bite

First bite

I woke in the hospital after being unconscious for three days. Roxie was asleep in the chair beside my bed. Her hand lay gently on top of mine, and I couldn't help but smile. It was just like her to stay through the night. I went to stretch my cramped muscles and she stirred. "Morning beauty." My voice was barely a whisper, but I admit, this was my own paranoia of someone else being across the room. Roxie rubbed her gorgeous eyes and smiled at me.

"You're awake…" She was still drowsy. I nodded and went to take her hand again. The slight movement in my arm rippled up through to my shoulder and I yelped in pain. Fear struck across her face as my hand jumped to my left shoulder. No blood, no but there was a bandage, that covered my shoulder and part of my neck and arm.

The bandage was dark red, and it stung to move my arm. I remember being attacked and being bitten. That was it. As for what attacked me I wouldn't have any idea until three nights later when the full moon hung in the July sky.

Of course it didn't take me long to figure out what had happened. Simply put, I was a monster. If you really need anymore clarifying than that then press the little 'X' button in the top right, now. For the rest of you who follow along, yes I was a monster.

Each and every full moon led to more pain, but more discovery. I began to learn what I could do and what I couldn't. My limits and boundaries.

Then the day came when I couldn't hide from her anymore. I hadn't seen her in months trying to protect her. But this wasn't working for either of us. I had to tell her, but of course there was no way she'd believe me… so I decided to show her. I admit, this was an idea better left in a locked box under the bed, but I didn't realize at the time.

In my animalistic state I padded up to where she said to meet me. I was relying heavily on her love of animals. She didn't disappoint though, the second she saw me her face lit up and she ushered me to come closer. What could I do but listen? Padding up to her softly, I dipped my nose, her blue eyes watched me and already I think she could tell this was no ordinary dog.

Letting out a short whine I let myself fall back into my human state. She watched with wide eyes and a dropped jaw. I still didn't move even when I was finished transforming. Holding still waiting for her reaction, which was the very last thing I expected. She was giggling. My face twisted in confusion and she explained.

"Are you… naked?" She asked in uproarious laughter. For a few moments more I didn't move in shock.

"What?" I finally found the sense to ask. It was actually a pain to wear clothes as a wolf, so I was already very aware that I had nothing on. "You just watched me morph from a dog to a human and that's all you have to say?"

She didn't respond for a while because she was laughing too hard. After the first five minutes or so it became rather annoying. Finally though, she caught her breath and looked at me seriously. "If that's what you are… That's what you are..." Roxie said softly as if it were a fact of life.

I honestly didn't know how to react to that. I was mentally and, as ashamed as I am to admit it, physically prepared for any possible way I thought she might react. Never did I imagine that. She bent down and hugged me, a very awkward hug might I add as well considering my clothes-less situation.

"Maybe you should go get some pants on now…" She released me and held back a giggle. In response I playfully growled at her. And this, was the start of many a happy months, plus a never-ending line of dog puns but that was manageable. Yes, they were happy days… It wasn't until my 16th birthday that everything fell apart.

On May 19 I became 16. Immediately I saw the difference in myself. I was faster, stronger, and smarter, as the days wore into June however I became hostile and uncontrollable as well. Roxie did some research for me and it was apparently just a form of 'wolf puberty' if only that was relief.

The transformations only became more painful, the anger only got worse, the uneasiness, everything felt like death in a waking state. Roxie refused to leave me regardless of how unstable I was. I still haven't the slightest idea why, but she didn't and finally she decided she just being there wasn't enough. She felt if she shared my pain it would become easier to bear.

Do not ask where exactly this logic made sense, because I have no idea. She begged me for it, to share my curse with her. It didn't take long before I became uncontrollably angry. Didn't she realize what she was doing? To both herself and me?

A small note: To anyone who knows little about werewolves, we feed on anger. Soon my anger took all control completely, which looking back, I think is what she was aiming for, and instinct took over.

The next few moments of my life I have tried, numerous times to forget, to block from my memory. Try as I may though, everything is as crystalline clear as if it had just happened. Everything is still in vivid detail in my mind. The way her soft porcelain of her shoulder broke under my teeth. The crack as I almost broke the bone. The way she went rigid in pain after I bit down. Most of all I cannot forget, the one thing that to this day sends gut wrenching tremors through me, the rich sweet taste of her blood.

It gushed into my mouth, and the very sweetness of it drove me on. Sugar could not compare to its sweetness and the richest man alive was poor compared to it. As I write it makes my mouth water, but it fills me with such a hatred for myself. Please, understand that this truly was the very last thing I ever wanted to do. As I stated before I regret it still… but I must confess there was a twisted part of me, somewhere in me that I revisit only in my nightmares now, I enjoyed it.

It was sweet, it was rich, and it was strong. The sweetness made me crave it. Its own power made it almost too much to take in. I regained my senses as I attempted to stop, I couldn't. She was screaming now, I was hurting her, but I couldn't stop. With amazing strength she pushed me off of her, though her screaming did not stop. I laid in the grass in half a daze, my mouth dripping of her exquisite crimson blood. My own strength fading as I began to lose consciousness all together.

I woke, hours later. My body ached as I attempted to pull myself to consciousness. For a moment, my mind was blurry. I couldn't remember a thing, but as I opened my eyes, it all came back with the astounding clarity I remember it as today. The fight, the anger, the bite, the blood, the taste, and finally I forced myself to sit up. The crimson of her blood was dried to my lips and chin and made an almost black stain on the front of my shirt.

For awhile I just stared at myself. I was _covered_ in it. All over my hands and up my arms was crimson. I could feel it dried onto my neck and around my mouth. I was so amazed the amount of blood I was covered in that I didn't realize it at first. I was alone. My head snapped up immediately and almost frantically I searched for her. There was more blood on the grass… God, why was there so much of it? And the soil was torn, numerous slash marks in the earth. It didn't take much imagination to see where they could've come from.

The pain of fear burned in my veins as I desperately searched for her. And finally it hit me, like a mac truck doing 110 on the highway. The blood on my shirt, _her _blood, and the gashes mixed with the crimson earth. Roxie obviously couldn't handle the strength of a wolf. Some humans couldn't. Which, in short means, I killed Roxanne.


	3. Second Bite

The Second Bite

Now, if you were paying attention then you can probably guess that Roxie _wasn't _in fact dead. Being in the state I was how could I have known this though? I stood, pain and fear building to a crescendo that almost made me puke. Ignoring the throbbing pain in my muscles I began blindly forward. I wanted nothing more than to prove myself wrong, I wanted reality to wipe the gruesome, horrifying images from my mind. I wanted to know she was alive. Memory fades and mixes here... for I was lost in a daze and didn't pay attention to much. I just stumbled forward, dead and alive, waiting to be proven wrong.

My ears caught it first. The soft gentle thrumming that I had learned to cherish. In the same moment I recognized the scent that hung in the air and my feet began to move a little faster as it got stronger. Soon, I was at a full paced sprint, expertly dodging trivial obstacles as I ran. I was so caught up in my excitement that I never even caught the _other_ scent that mingled with hers. The sickly sweet smell of something like perfumed soap. When I stopped, the first thing I saw was of course, Roxie.

She was lying on the ground, her long brown hair tangled and mixed with her own blood. With dark, gory, horrifying wound on her shoulder. She was as pale as the moon and unconscious. I looked up, realizing the second scent for the first time. And the first sound to come out of my mouth was a deep territorial growl.

As I've said before humans were merely playthings to Damon. So the delighted grin that spread across his face upon seeing me sent another growl to rip through the air.

"She yours?" He asked, a voice as smooth as a velvet scarf that was about to choke you. Mindlessly, all I could do was growl. He laughed, sending a surge to every nerve in my body to jump and rip him apart. "_I _didn't make her a bloody unconscious mess… did I?" He grinned like I had become the punch line of a hysterical joke. A small whimper escaped my lips as I let my eyes drop to her unconscious form.

"I found her lying here just recently. I _was_ just going to kill her…" He looked down at her almost thoughtfully before continuing. "… but that… just doesn't seem satisfying enough now."

For a moment I thought he meant to kill both of us now. Heh, I wished him luck if that was his plan, but instead he slowly, very, very slowly, picked her up. Gently wrapping one thick muscled arm around her and gracefully picking up her hand. That was I all I needed to see before anger burned through my veins like lava.

"Get. Away. From. Her." I said, making a small attempt at control. Damon laughed at me. Yes, _at _me. I know that's supposed to be one of those things like a mind game where, 'I _think _he is but can't be sure…' Screw that, he was laughing at me, and fanning the angry flames in my veins more and more.

It only took me a second more to realize what should have been obvious from the beginning. I should've realized from the sickly sweet soap smell, Damon was a vampire. A fierce growl ripped through my chest as another wave of flaming fury ignited in my veins. That cocky smile on his face stretched to a grin, displaying two small pointed teeth on either side of his mouth.

He knew what he was doing, _he_, of course, _was_ paying attention and probably caught my scent a mile or two off. Now he was only prodding me on, waiting for me to morph before making any kind of move. After what fun was a meal without a chase? God he made me sick. The worst part of it all though... I was completely and utterly helpless against him.

Some other small tidbits of information for those of you who know nothing about the supernatural kind. One: We feed on anger. Wolves are highly aggressive creatures, the anger is what drives us forward. Most times it is the soul reason for the transformation. By this point, anything unfortunate Two: Wolves and Vampires are sworn ancient enemies. I really don't think anyone remembers what started the conflict... Could be that we both just have dominant bloodlines, but until you can find enough of them that will make lasting peace, you'll deal with the senseless bloody fighting.

With this in mind you can already guess what his goal was. Simply put, to piss me off to the point of morphing, at which point he would use Rox as a human shield. If I had the sense to resist, he would use me to do whatever, if not...

Damon's arm tightened around her waist and the evil glint in his eyes glowed. I wanted to rip his throat out... I really did. I focused myself on staying calm. He laughed knowing I had just now made all the realizations he'd come up with long ago. More than that though... He had something else in mind as well. As those long disgusting ivory fingers slowly pulled her head back I realized what.

Anger flowed through me so strong that I couldn't contain it. No way, not now, not ever, there was no way his greedy fangs would get anywhere near her neck. Then I realized what was happening, I was morphing, giving him what he wanted. "NO!" I trapped my eyes shut and stopped, hopefully, still human. Judging by his glare I assumed so.

"Aren't you angry dog boy? Don't you want her? Come get her." He teased me. I refused with a little difficultly. "Can't you hear that?" Damon's tone suggested he were talking to a child. He was toying with me again, or at least I thought, but as I listened closer I heard what he meant. The soft rhythmic _thump _of Roxie's heart was beginning to fade, she was dying. Surprisingly enough this didn't please Damon. That toying heartless smile fell for a second, only a second.

"Give her to me! NOW!" I snarled at him. He looked down at her, with her head resting on his shoulder, a small triumphant smile spread across his face.

"You dosed her with too much venom pup. Her poor human body can't take all of it... What a shame."

Immediately I saw where he was taking this. She very well could live if some of the venom could be taken out. Hmm, but that would require someone who.. *gasp* sucked blood? I hate him. I felt so helpless... He won, and I couldn't do anything to stop it. He, no matter how much I still cringe to say, was her only hope. I turned away, unable to witness the gruesome sight that was about to unfold in front of me. "Just do it."

It felt like hours, and it was annoying to have trust him not to kill her. My more-than-sensitive ears heard the delicate sucking sound as he pulled out just enough venom. He gasped and moaned and I knew he was tasting the same sweet power that I had just the night before. That overwhelming power. His gasps took on despair as he realized he couldn't stop. Vividly I remembered that want to stop but that need to keep drinking. A groan and a loud thud told me he was finished.

My eyes immediately set on Damon and a small hit of triumph radiated through me. He was sprawled on his back, his lips a bright crimson color, looking dazed before falling into unconsciousness completely. She was out too. Within half a second I was at her side. She still had a pulse. Good. Maybe the bloodsucker _was _good for something after all.

Right here I should stop, becoming sick with myself for not reporting the entire story. Right then, was the mistake the worst mistake any being could make. Letting him touch her, sink his greedy fangs into her, was the worst possible thing I could have done.

Right then, two things happened. One: she lost that last ounce of humility she had. Two: a never ending nightmare had begun.

Now I'm sure some of you will say "It wasn't a mistake, she _was_ dying after all." She wasn't, if she could handle what was to come, she easily could've handled what I did. I didn't even think that if she wasn't able to handle me… How could she ever handle both of us?

Roxie was now unique. Yes of course she was before. Now she was unique even in the realm of freaks. She was a hybrid. Hybrids, simply put, are half wolf, half vampire, all demon. She'd be twice as strong as Damon and I combined, twice as smart, twice as fast. She'd have every single characteristic of both the wolf and the vampire. Now why was this a problem? She was too young. The scramble between us, and the bite from Damon was thrown on to her at only 13.

This uniqueness, her 'hybrid theory' as she would later call it, was the very thing that killed her. It was all my fault.  
I didn't know any of this then; I wouldn't for a few months to come. Right then I was near tears that she was simply alive. Turning back and throwing a scowl at Damon I delicately picked her up. She was just as covered in her own blood as I was, and it made me sick to think that it was even remotely my fault. I took her home, well my home at least. Yes I live in a house, how much of a dog do you think I am? I just didn't have parents…

Laying her down on my bed, I knelt beside her, taking her slim pale hand in mine. The amount of blood she was soaked in disgusted me, and set to cleaning her up as much as possible. When she did wake I was gently scrubbing at the wounds on her shoulder and neck.

"Andy…" Her voice was weak, painfully weak. I stopped scrubbing to smile at her, as she slowly opened her eyes. In shock the warm cloth dropped from my hand, and I felt a wave of nausea wash over me. Blue, her dazzling blue eyes, shimmering sapphires, glowed a different color. Her endless ocean eyes burned a fiery crimson red. It was then I realized what I really did to her. For a few moments I stood in sickened shock staring into her bloody eyes. As if the horrid ruby glow in her eyes wasn't enough, she smiled at me. Like a newborn child, completely clueless to what was happening around her.

Within her pearl white smile was the very last thing I had ever wanted to see. Two of her teeth were pointed to a fine tip that stabbed right through me. I stepped back in shock, as if reaching the climax of a nightmare. She sat up to look at me. Her large red eyes looking over me curiously.

"What's wrong Anders?" Her voice had the ring of a church bell on Christmas morning to it. It sounded so _wrong_. Yes it was my nickname, but I was so used to the soft sound of wind when I heard it. Not the ringing sound of bells. This was all so wrong. I knew she was still Roxie, MY Roxie. But she seemed so different now... So alien. "Xander what's wrong?" Her bell voice took on worry as she studied my face. All I could do was stare, dumbstruck at the result of what I had really done to her. She stood and walked over to me with such grace, such poise, such beautiful balance I was for a moment breathless.

She took my hands and I felt only a sliver of reassurance at the warm temperature of her skin. Looking into her sparkling crimson eyes though, this was only a slight comfort.

"What... Happened..." I breathed, not even making it a question. More like a statement I didn't want to hear a reply to.

"Andy? Aaandy?" She called to me as if I were in a trance. My eyes trapped shut and I tried telling myself I was just caught in a horrific nightmare. When I opened them again she had tucked her hair behind her ears. My mouth dropped slightly in... Confusion? I suppose that would be right. Confusion, surprise, joy, and more confusion all seemed to hit me in the same instant. Protruding from her head where her normal, human ears used to be, were two fluffy pointed, wolf's ears.

I just stared uncomprehendingly. Part of me, wanted to start laughing and go 'what' but most of me was too confused and just stood there with a look on my face that screamed "HUH?!?!". It was then really that I figured out what had happened. That she was now the ultimate mix of two species. Alright, to be perfectly honest all _that _didn't actually register until later; at the moment I was a little preoccupied that my best friend had dog ears and fangs.

"Rox.... You might wanna turn abound." I pointed to the mirror behind her. She looked confused for half a second before spinning around to see herself. In disbelief she walked forward. Fear washed across her face as her hands reached to almost touch her eyes then stopped as one finger traced the sharp point of her teeth. Meekly, her hands dropped and she stood there for a second taking in her new appearance before screaming. My instincts took over and I crossed the space between us in half a second holding her as she panicked.

"What _happened_?" She sobbed frantically. "My eyes.. My ears... I'm a freak!" She sobbed harder, I held her closer unable to say anything. Of course the only thing that would have mattered to say right then would be 'I'm sorry'. My voice wouldn't make enough sound to speak the words though. My hand automatically stroked her hair down her back.

"Shhh...." I whispered by her ear. I hadn't realized that she had collapsed, or that we were sitting on the floor. I knew only that I had just ruined the most perfect thing possible because of my own selfishness. With every tear that fell from her face that pain which originated in her fanged smile, stung and burned all the more. Silent tears began to fall down my own cheeks after a moment as well.

Finally, she stopped, and demanded to know what happened. With downcast eyes, and a guilty heart I told her the whole story. To my luck or horror…Whichever you choose to call it, she remembered the part about my bite. I had to stop in mid-sentence here for the overwhelming guilt took over and to my utter shame, tears gushed from my eyes. She urged me to continue anyway. Which I did without falteration.

I told her about the vampire in the woods and explained to her, what has happened and what she has become. Numerous times I would stop to beg forgiveness but in her eyes, I had only given her what she desired. It seemed to her that if the cost was having fluffy dog ears then it was a price she was willing to pay. What really seemed to baffle her were her teeth and eyes.

"So what…. Am I like, half of both now?" She asked studying herself in the mirror. I made to answer her by another voice beat me to it.

"Unless one can become more dominant." A velvet voice wafted through the room. That same silken scarf that seemed so innocent until it locked around your neck immobilizing your lungs. Instinctively, a growl ripped out of my throat, surprising Roxie and forcing her to turn. Seeing her in full view Damon didn't move.

Now, if you're a good little reader and have been picturing this in your mind since the start, then I'd advise remembering the image you should have now. Damon always bore the same cocky 'I'm just playing a game with you' expression. The picture painted on his face puts a grin on my face still today. Damon's eyes went slightly wide, his jaw dropped just the tiniest fraction of an inch, it looked numerous times as though he was about to speak but uttered no sound. The complete dumbstruck expression on his face lasted only a second, but among other things, is still crystalline clear in my mind.

"What do you want?" I snapped at him. To my pleasure he was too amazed to reply. In a second he completely washed away. He bowed to her deeply, his face falling into the proper grace I imagine he used long ago when courting a lady.

"Damon Young, I am honored to make you acquaintance my lady." There was a frosty politeness to his voice like he wasn't really all there, and I couldn't help but wonder what he was aiming for. As he stood I saw a glimmer in his eyes that didn't match the menacing, life threatening glimmer they had before. Looking over to Roxie, the frosty look covered her eyes as well for a moment as she responded.

"Roxanne Blazely." She replied to him in the same iced over tone while nodding her head slightly. I stared at her incredulously. What was she _doing_? He held out his hand and she stepped forward to take it. No way, I was _not_ just going to stand by while he pretty much brainwashed her, or whatever he was doing. Without hesitation I stepped between them, immediately breaking whatever trance had previously hung over them.

Rox shook her head as if waking from a daze, which was to say the least, unsurprising. Damon's face was over swept with an emotion of disgust. _That_ however was very surprising. If that had been his doing why did he look so disgusted about it? Realization dawned over both of us in the same instant, leaving Roxie in the dark trying to decipher our amazed expressions.

Since you, the reader, are in fact most likely human, I will say this as gently as possible. You become attached easily. When one of us feeds off a human, you become bonded to us for a time. Usually not a long time, usually not that strongly. I will tell you, feeding and physically changing one of you are two 100% different things. Now some simple math, if simply feeding off a human creates a short weak bond. What do you think changing a human does? Very good.

She was bonded, very strongly might I add. And not just to one of us. She was connected at the soul to _both _of us. I'll admit when I first bit her yes I did think about this. (Considering the relationship we already had the idea seemed innocent enough.) I never even considered though, the risk that might arise from _him_ latching his greedy little fangs on her. She looked between us, her crimson eyes just begging for an answer. A greedy, disgusting smile spread across Damon's lips. "Allow me to explain." He said in a bad impression of the icy polite tone he had minutes before. He turned and faced her now, looking almost agreeable.

"We own you now." It was reflex. I swear it was. I barely realized that my hand had reached up and rapped him in the head before he was glaring at me. "What?" He demanded angry. "It's true. She'll do anything for either of us now." An evil sneer hid behind that velvet voice of his and I wasn't having it.

"You know damn well that there's more to it than that." I looked at Roxie, who seemed scared, confused, lost, and somehow behaved all in the same instant. "Rox unfortunately, he, in a way, is telling the truth. You _are_ bound to us... but it works in the other direction too. We're just as bound to you... as you are to us." At these words two questions were answered in the same moment. It wasn't an outright reply, more of a subtle reaction. The disgusted way Damon's face scrunched up as I said this told me loud and clear that he felt the unbreakable bond to Roxanne, and that he obviously hated being connected so strongly in any way to someone even remotely human.

She, however, was quiet for a long while. After all that has happened within the last hour alone I can't say I blame her. She was probably about to explode from an overload, or breakdown from being too 'abnormal'... But she didn't do anything. Didn't move, didn't speak, for a moment I thought she wasn't breathing as well. Her stillness enhanced the silence that hung on the room. At first it just hung loosely like a big collection of quietness, but as the silence stretched on, it became tighter and heavier. A deafening silence. There was a relief through the room as she finally moved, looking between the two of us again. Her expression was completely unreadable.

"Well… This is definitely new and unexpected." Her eyes were focused on the floor now; they closed a second as she took a deep breath in then looked back up at me. I recognized that look. It was one of a determination that said 'okay this sucks… but lets make the best of it.' One thing you have to love about Roxie, it is incredibly hard to put a downer on her mood. She grinned at me, actually it was probably _us_, but that worthless bloodsucker wasn't at all in attention, so she was grinning at me.


	4. A Moment of Peace

A moment of peace…to breathe. Just a moment though for the story must go on.

Roxie took to her new 'abilities' very quickly. She mastered hearing things at amazing distances off, seeing things through the murkiest blackest nights and running at incredible speeds for even more astonishing distances. I taught her all the strengths I could, from defense, to attack, to when to be 'human' and when to be animal. Damon has his own sessions with her, training her to control her bloodlust and hunt without making a mess. Somehow the two of us teamed together to teach her the shared strengths we had.

Over and over gain we both stressed the weakness of both species. Don't drink dead blood. Don't touch anything of pure silver. It was almost surprising at first that he would teach her what to _avoid._ Since when did he care? But the connection between us grew considerably stronger. Roxanne grew fonder of Damon with each little session as he did with her. I can't help but wonder if maybe it was the fact that she was so incredibly close, almost infatuated with us, (yes, with both of us) that caused the events to happen later.

But for now, there was peace. Her training sessions were relaxing to say the least and she always made them enjoyable. It was nicer than when I had first become what I am and told her about it. Now there was no restraint. I couldn't accidentally crush her with a hug, though there was a good chance she could break my spinal cord that way. Oh well, I'd take it happily. I'm a fast healer anyway.

Though, on a side note, I must admit it was almost embarrassing to be with her sometimes. It didn't exactly take her very long to find out exactly how strong she is, nor did it take her any more than two seconds more to figure out that she was stronger than both Damon and I put together. And she frequently saw to remind us of it. Don't mistake me, I have no problems with a 'girl' being stronger, but when that girl has the temper of a raging hybrid and can throw a 3 ton wrecking ball through a steel wall, it makes you just a little wary. Needless to say we, or _I_, at least tried my best to keep her happy. Dumba- I mean Damon decided it was hysterical to watch her destroy anything she touched.

But yes… It was a happy time. There were some rough spots, but they always ended in laughter and a smile. As long as it was hers neither of us really cared what else happened. It was moments like these that have made me learn to hate peaceful moments. As you saw before there was a gentle calm before the storm. A moment of pure happiness before it all falls apart. This story is absolutely full of them. One thing I've learned from seeing this repetitive pattern time and time again: the happier the moment is, the worse the storm is. And let me tell you it was absolute bliss for the longest time.


	5. The Hurricane

The Hurricane

You can argue that I am being dramatic if you like. That nothing could be so bad. You could argue all you want, but I don't particularly care. The months that followed were so much more horrible than a storm, hence, a hurricane. I was there, you weren't, simple. If you still feel that I am over reacting, keep reading and tell me then, or go dunk your head into a pool and breathe deeply, I have better things to do than argue right now.

For everyone else, our moment of bliss ended suddenly. It was almost violent and it ended with two words: 'Happy Birthday'. Remember what followed my first moment of bliss? What happened when _I_ turned sixteen? It was a wolf thing correct? Guess how old Roxie was now.

Weeks beforehand Damon and I debated how it would affect her. The 'puberty' stage was the time when the wolf became stronger, the dominant force, and the time when you went from a pup to real wolf. The problem, she wasn't all wolf. What would it do to the other half of her? Maybe it wouldn't do anything, period. Maybe all it would do it polish up her 'furrier side.' I'll tell you now, we were both wrong.

She turned sassy sixteen on July 4th, ironic isn't it? One last celebration before everything goes to the dark side. For the first little while it seemed as if her inner wolf would just get stronger. Until she became uncontrollably sick. In an instant she went from a picture of near perfect health to being able to barely move. The change sparked something, a war starting in her veins. The two bloods were very dominant. Of course they could live side by side, but when one attempted to take control of course the other is going to defend itself. Yes, we probably could learn a lesson from our blood. As stated before though both sides were content being at ends with the other.

I immediately set out to find what was wrong with her. I became her doctor almost. I did research through old books, (not the ones you people read for a laugh, ones that none of you have even heard of before) to see if there was anything that could help me cure her. I searched, and searched, for two weeks it went on. Endless days finding anything I possibly could on the subject. No matter how many different texts I went to the answer was always the same. Death. Needless to say this was not an answer I was about to accept.

Everywhere was the same though. It was spread out repeatedly. And with each repeated conclusion I promptly slammed the book shut, tossed it to a corner, and opened another. Damon had no response to this. He stayed silently by Roxie as he usually did. Roxie's reaction was the worst of all, because I didn't have to tell her. She had seen it in dreams over and over again; somehow she felt her time getting shorter. So when I finally broke down and told her the conclusion of endless research she merely replied with "I know." Without even taking her once again sapphire eyes off the setting sun outside. Her bell voice sounded so far away.

For a time I thought I was going insane of worry. It angered me that she was being so passive about it, so accepting. It enraged me that Damon had no reaction at all. The most of his reaction was more silence than he usually handed the room. Was I really the only one who cared about her life? Roxanne slept frequently in vain attempt to keep her strength up. While she slept Damon would watch her as usual for a while then leave to hunt. I noticed though... His 'hunting' became more and more frequent the closer she came to death. Particularly angry one night I followed him, demanding to know. Shouldn't he care at least a little?

I never got to speak to him directly that night though. He stopped in a clearing where he just stood for what seemed like years, and for a moment I thought he knew I was there. Then he fell to his knees, and dropped his head into his hands. I was frozen in shock. Faintly, I heard him muttering something, and concentrated my energy to my ears in an attempt to hear him. He was apologizing.

"I'm sorry Rox... I am so sorry." His voice wasn't the velvet tone, it wasn't the icy polite tone, it was broken. He was blaming himself for this. He did care. "Don't die... Don't die..." There was a sound mixed with the broken-ness that amazed me. He was crying. Not to be vamprist or anything but I honestly didn't realize they could cry. It became clear then. He stayed calm and cool around her trying to make her last moments happier, he was absolutely falling apart.

It was such a shocking side of him to see. That was his reaction from the start and it just ate away at him with every passing second of her life that ticked away. Let me tell you now... This Damon will soon be more of a character than the other. But in this moment now... he was still the Damon I saw... and I stood watching him as pieces of him fell to the ground in sad mournful chunks.

It was much later when he finally composed himself enough to leave. As I followed him back the morning sun was beginning to peak its head over the trees with a new day in suit. I wasn't sure I could actually handle another day. Another day of the same depressing hopelessness, the only thing even slightly new about it was the numbers left on the clock of her life. Always changing, but never getting any bigger. We figured by Roxanne's state that there was maybe a week. She could barely keep her eyes open and had almost no energy when she woke.

By the end of the week we were all expecting the worst. It was an almost pleasant surprise when she woke on Saturday with as much energy as she had when she was human. Note the almost. It's debatable which would be more preferable. Her dying or what happened. Yes, that day she did in fact wake up as healthy as ever. It wasn't because she had sped through the stage of 'puberty' though. Oh no, that would be nice though wouldn't it?

Naturally, we tested her to make sure she was okay. Just in case something went wrong. Results showed that the opposing bloods no longer fought with each other. Instead they combined, melted together. They created something. In all honesty neither of us became aware that anything was created until it nearly smacked us in the face. Over the following weeks she became emotional. Not depressed exactly… more like bipolar. Her mood was as ever changing as the wind. She began to act more of a child than usual, and out of nowhere she'd have cravings for the most random things.

Yes, yes I realize that the more feminine readers have caught on. But Damon and I, like most men, didn't catch on until something became painfully apparent. At first it was only her more unusual of cravings that made her sick. When things she ate regularly couldn't stay in her stomach for more than a minute we began to worry what might be wrong.

With two people who can hear a mouse trip a mile away it took us only seconds to hear the second heartbeat resonating inside of Roxanne. At first neither of us knew what to say. Only a single word hung in the air, dressed as a question: 'why?' Later, of course another question joined it. Slowly more and more unsolvable mysteries became present. The three that concerned me most, why, how, and of course… Now what?

_This _I knew well for a fact was new. After all that research before I knew good and well we were on our own. No one knew what the child was, how it came to be (because I promise you, she may have been a demon that could qualify as hell's worst nightmare but she was at least innocent in _that_ sense), or even had the slightest clue about it.

Now, with so much unknown, and the possible dangers behind it, would you think that an abortion would be the right thing? I realize some of you won't budge on your standpoint of this, but please… realize the chances. For the first time Damon and I both agreed on something: the child was a threat. Until we knew more it would only harm her. This was a stupid assumption… We could have known everything in the universe about the child clear to the day that it died and nothing would've changed what happened in the end.

We seemed to think that Roxie would agree with our reasoning. That too much was at stake. We were wrong. Dead wrong. She became angry with us, but before anything could be destroyed she stopped.


End file.
